So what is Peace Corps “technical training” really like? What have the trainees been doing the past 11 weeks, aside from learning Bulgarian language? Well, they’ve been designing and implementing a small community development project. Each of our five satellite sites had to come up with an idea for a project – preferably, they had to use an idea generated by the community – and then adapt that idea to the very short time frame of PST and the Peace Corps provided budget of 100 leva (about $70). As you’d expect from Peace Corps volunteers, we’ve had some very creative and hopefully sustainable projects. Despite their small size and the short time frame, I think some of the projects will genuinely provide lasting benefits for the communities.During the last few days our trainees have been busy implementing their projects, as Thursday is the last day of training. My counterpart Toni and myself have visited some of the sites to observe and trainees at work. Last Friday one of the groups gave a lesson to local children on environmentalism, and then created markers for a local hiking trail. The kids painted pictures on pieces of wood, and then posted the signs along the trail, imploring hikers to pick up their trash and help prevent forest fires. Last night I attended an event in another community, where the trainees had started a tourism-development campaign to promote the village and hopefully create a sustainable revenue stream by selling t-shirts and postcards to visitors. Another training group worked with their local police department to create a pocket Bulgarian/English phrase book that will help the policemen and other community members assist travelers who do not speak Bulgarian.
All of these small projects were accomplished in only a few weeks for less than $75, and have the potential to make a lasting positive impact on the communities after the trainees have finished PST and moved to their permanent sites. That’s the Peace Corps in action.
In the picture above trainees Kellen and Steve show off the t-shirts they made for their community to produce and sell. It says "Az [heart] Boboshevo," or I love Boboshevo (Boboshevo being the name of their host community).
